


Five Times Jim Died and Revived, And Once He Lived.

by JaneyKatherineHummingbird



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Blood, Crew as Family, Death, Gen, gory, jim is immortal, temporary blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-27
Updated: 2017-04-27
Packaged: 2018-10-24 16:05:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10745082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaneyKatherineHummingbird/pseuds/JaneyKatherineHummingbird
Summary: Jim Kirk has a secret--he's self-healing and death doesn't usually stick. This comes in handy when it's time to sacrifice himself for his crew.





	Five Times Jim Died and Revived, And Once He Lived.

Tarsus IV-Pike  
The emaciated children refused to be evacuated without the sheet covered figure lying in the corner of the cave.

"We can't leave JT here," declared a boy tearfully. "He starved himself to keep us alive. If you had been here a couple hours ago, you might have saved him. We won't go without him."

"Okay, Kevin," Chris said gently. "Can I see him?" 

The boy nodded and Chris pulled back the sheet to expose the dead boy's face. His own heart nearly stopped when he realized who it was: George Kirk's son, Jim. Sadness coursed through him at the wasted features of the boy who'd allowed himself to starve to save his friends. But wait, why did he feel so warm? He started when the boy's still chest suddenly jolted and he began gulping in air. Kevin's eyes went wide. 

"He's not dead! Now you have to take him with you!" 

The children crowded around Kirk eagerly, watching as he feebly stirred. 

"I swear he really was dead!" Said the wide-eyed Kevin. "I couldn't feel any heartbeat and he wasn't breathing!!"

JT opened wide blue scared eyes and looked at Chris.

"Easy, kid. I'm with Starfleet. We're here to get you all out of here." 

Chris gently picked the far too lightweight boy up and carried him out of the cave, the rest of the children following. The scope of the tragedy was overwhelming and he couldn't begin to imagine what these children had endured. Starfleet would forever have a stain from the improper handling of the whole situation. 

The doctor on the ship they brought the kids was completely baffled by Jim's condition.

"By all rights, he should still be dead! He WAS dead, but somehow, his body kickstarted again! It's unexplainable!!"

Something pinged in Chris's brain. He'd heard of certain individuals who had the rare Resurrection gene, but never met one before. The description he'd read of people with the gene matched what had happened with Jim. 

 

Shuttle crash-Bones

The Second Year at the academy, Jim's secret "gift" was revealed to his best friend in a rather abrupt manner. Leonard was working in Starfleet medical when several victims of a nasty shuttle accident were brought in, three critical and three others pronounced dead on arrival. 

Leonard's heart stopped when he realized Jim was one of the three that had arrived in a body bag. He didn't have time to feel the pain of loss because there were still lives to save. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the bodies being moved to the morgue, but frantically focused on the traumatic injuries to the young cadet who might still live. 

Minutes later, the morgue attendants came rushing back with Jim's stretcher and an excited shout of "he's breathing again. We've got a Lazarus here!" 

Poor Leonard was again dumbfounded. "Dammit, Jim!! What are you hiding from me?" He hissed as he began to do what he could to aid Jim's healing, which his body had already begun to do on its own, confirming that Jim, was indeed, one of the rare people with the special gene. 

"Hey, Bones," his friend croaked when he awoke. "Did I die? It felt like I did." He winced at the doctor's glare.

"Ya sure did, Jim. Snapped your neck and busted up your insides good. Took ten years off my life. When were you gonna tell me you've got the resurrection gene?" 

"Ummm...soon?" Jim said sheepishly, trying and failing to move. Leonard wanted to shout at him, but he didn't have the heart just then. 

"You're still paralyzed, kid. Just relax. It's still healing. What happened with the shuttle?" 

"Power failure," Jim rasped. "Don't know what caused it. Pike's gonna have my hide."

"Why? It wasn't your fault." 

"He gets all riled up when I get hurt. Acts like I'm his kid, or something."

"That's because he cares about you kid. Believe me, I'd like to have your hide too, for scaring me like that." 

Jim smiled drowsily. 

 

Asphyxiation-Spock

"You never loved her!!!"

Commander Spock was clearly emotionally compromised and sorely provoked when he choked the life out of Cadet Kirk, but he would never forget the horror when Kirk went limp in his hand and didn't get up. For a few terrifying minutes after he'd stepped down, he believed he'd killed the cadet and judging by the dark look on Dr. McCoy's face, he was 99% certain. He took himself immediately to the brig after leaving the bridge and remained there for some hours until Lieutenant Uhura appeared. 

"What are you doing?" He questioned as she released the force field in front of the cell.

"Saving the earth. We need your help. Kirk's going over to the Romulan ship and is going to get himself killed without you to help."

Spock blinked.

"I was under the impression Cadet Kirk died from my assault." 

"Well, kinda, but not really. He can explain it to you. We've got to go, NOW." 

She urgently led him from the room and Spock could only wonder. Not until after the prolonged voyage home did he have a chance to talk to the acting captain about their fight. They were both in Medbay, having their battle wounds tended by Doctor McCoy when Kirk brought up the subject.

"Spock, I need to apologize for what I said about your mother. I didn't mean anything I said. I know you loved her and I'm so sorry we couldn't save her."

Jim's face was a mixture of exhaustion, sadness, and regret as he toyed with the edge of the biobed. 

"And I must apologize as well, Cadet Kirk. My assault nearly killed you. I crushed your windpipe. By all rights, I should be facing trial for murder when we return."

"About that--" Kirk rubbed the back of his head nervously. "There's only a couple methods of actually killing me that will stick. I have this rare mutation that makes my body self-healing. It's called the Resurrection gene. You'd have to burn me to ashes or decapitate me to off me for good."

Spock's eyebrow rose in curiosity and wonder. He had indeed heard of the condition, but had never met any living person with the ability to self-heal. He began to question Kirk further on this most remarkable trait.

"So, you are saying I did indeed kill you, but you came back to life?"

Kirk shrugged. "Basically. I was trying to provoke you and forgot to take the whole Vulcan strength into account. Don't worry about it, Spock."

 

Alien Execution-Uhura 

Uhura witnessed Jim's genes being put to the rest when they were captured by the Nildor people and condemned to death for inadvertently desecrating a sacred shrine. After much haggling and pleading, their captors decided only one death would be necessary to appease the offended gods. Jim, of course, volunteered. Uhura tried to remonstrate with him, but he wasn't having any of it. 

"Once they finish the sacrifice, they'll let you go and give back the communicators so you can have us all beamed out! I'll be back, I promise."

"But what if the sacrifice is a burnt offering or beheading?" She asked anxiously, really NOT wanting to see Jim die, even temporarily. 

"It's not. I already asked," Jim replied shortly. "It'll be alright, Uhura." 

He was dragged away to be prepared for the ritual and Uhura felt sick with dread and horror. 

The away team was forced to stand by and watch as their captain was tied to an alter and chanted over while a priest took a sharp knife in his hand......

Uhura closed her eyes to avoid seeing the gruesome act, but cringed when she felt a warm wetness splatter on her cheek. One of the ensigns screamed and fainted and she guessed they had cut Jim's throat. It was An Effective method, but it was very messy. Nausea roiled in her gut as she wiped his blood off her cheek and tried to avoid looking in the direction of the alter as she waited for the aliens to grant their freedom. 

"Six to beam up," she told Scotty tensely, keeping an eye on the aliens still circling Jim's body. "The captain will need immediate medical attention." 

That was an understatement of understatements, but at least he wouldn't stay beyond help for long. 

McCoy's swearing at the sight of the captain's bloody neck would have been enough to wake the dead, even if Jim hadn't been about to revive. He needed a transfusion and couldn't talk for a week, but McCoy assured them he'd be okay.

Later, she went to visit him in Medbay, bandaged up and restless. With a sigh, she sat down beside him. 

"Ha. Got you right where I want you, captain. Helpless and unable to mouth off so I can tell you just what I think of your determination to martyr yourself." 

Jim wrinkled his nose. 

"Don't sass me, James Tiberius Kirk. Just because you're hard to kill doesn't mean you need to ALWAYS volunteer to die. We need you alive, Jim. We love you, you big lug. Don't you forget that." 

She placed a gentle kiss on his forehead and Jim's eyes softened. He didn't regret his action, but he hoped he never had to repeat it.

 

Warp Core--Everyone  
Unfortunately, the next year Jim was forced to again die to save his crew during the mess with Marcus and Khan. He and Scotty stared each other down at the door that led the the core, knowing that someone would have to go in there and realign it before the ship crashed to earth.

"Look, Scotty, I have to do this. I can't spare my best engineer and it's my fault we're in this mess to start with."

"But Jim!" The engineer protested. "Radiation poisoning is no joke. What if it's something you can't come back from?" 

"That's a chance I'll have to take. Otherwise, no one on this ship survives." 

Jim brushed past Scotty and typed in the code to open the door and slipped inside before the stunned engineer could react. 

After the ship had stabilized and Jim had painfully dragged himself back to the small chamber, he opened his eyes to see Bones and Spock outside, looking grieved (Spock) and very angry (Bones). 

"How's the ship?" He managed, trying to give a reassuring smile that only succeeded in looking pitiful. 

"Out of danger," Spock answered. 

"Good." Jim breathed, finding it harder and harder to get air in his lungs. It hurt as badly as he'd been warned, but they were safe and that's all that mattered.

"Dammit, Jim! When will you stop killing yourself? I can't even get in there to give you anything for the pain!!" Bones was very agitated and frustrated at being unable to help.

"It's alright, Bones," Jim whispered. "It won't be much longer." 

He tried to suppress a groan of sheer agony, but didn't fool his best friend at all and Bones's face crumpled as he balled his hands into fists. 

It was a relief when he finally lost consciousness so he didn't have to see his friend's distress anymore. 

Bones, however, didn't let him off easy for that incident. After he revived, Jim was monitored obsessively for the next six weeks and "in the doghouse" for another three before he was forgiven for the warp core stunt. 

+1  
Mingling with his crew at the surprise birthday party they'd thrown him, Jim was feeling happier than he had in ages, though it was mingled with the memories of losing so much crew.

"What brought all this on?" He asked Bones. 

"Thought you deserved some appreciation for being the best Captain in the fleet. Also, it's your reward for not dying this time."

Bones chuckled at his own remark, looking at Jim fondly. 

"You're the best, Bones," Jim told him, with a friendly slap on the back. "I haven't had a good birthday I can actually remember."

"It's about time you did, kid," Bones said gently. "Soak it up, now." 

So Jim did. He joked with Chekov, gave academy advice to Jaylah and encouraged Scotty in his story-telling, doing his best not to be intrusive on the happily reunited Sulus and Spock and Uhura, though he certainly did interact with them a good deal. All in all, he was a very content captain and felt with this group surrounding him, he had plenty of reason to stay alive and kicking.


End file.
